Halep passes the Mertens test

Going strong: Simona Halep was made to work harder in the second set but her win over Belgium’s Elise Mertens was never in doubt.

Going strong: Simona Halep was made to work harder in the second set but her win over Belgium’s Elise Mertens was never in doubt.  

Karolina Pliskova downs Azarenka in a three-setter

Reigning champion Simona Halep edged closer to a third consecutive Madrid Open title by beating Belgium’s Elise Mertens on Tuesday. Halep, the winner here in 2016 and 2017, was made to work harder in the second set, but the world No. 1’s 6-0, 6-3 victory was never in doubt.

Kristyna Pliskova of the Czech Republic will now await Halep in the last 16 as the Romanian continues to prepare for the French Open, where she has twice gone the distance only to finish runner-up.

Halep won the first eight games in a row to lead 6-0, 2-0, with her clay-court counter-attacking too strong for the 22-year-old Mertens to handle.

Sixth-ranked Karolina Pliskova defeated Belarusian Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 1-6, 7-5 to advance to the third round for the first time in her career. The Czech player on Monday needed two hours and eight minutes to get past Azarenka, who put up a harder fight than many expected given that her last appearance on clay was nearly two years ago.

Important results:

Men (second round): Denis Shapovalov bt Benoit Paire 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-4; First round: Roberto Bautista Agut bt Jared Donaldson 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-4; Philipp Kohlschreiber bt Yuichi Sugita 6-4, 6-3; Robin Haase bt Hyeon Chung 6-2, 6-0.

Women (second round): Petra Kvitova bt Monica Puig 6-3, 7-6(8); Karolina Pliskova bt Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 1-6, 7-5; Simona Halep bt Elise Mertens 6-0, 6-3.